It's The Beginning of The End
by Fiyeraaron
Summary: It's been going on for a while and they're all getting exhausted, they just don't know how to carry on. (Is it ÉpxCourf or ÉpxEnj? Who knows?)
1. Chapter 1

"Do you think it could be possible for you to walk any _slower_?"

Not only was it the fact that he decided to lecture her about her personal tactics, not only was it the fact that he chose to be so fucking annoying all the time, but now he was in front of her and walking at such a slow pace she could actually murder someone.

As his back turns, a smirk makes its way onto her face and she knows she can reciprocate any witty comment he makes. "I'm sorry, perhaps you would like to lead the group through this deserted, possibly dangerous town?" His blue eyes pierce hers and her smile widens as his eyes narrow. He walks backwards down the sand road they're currently traipsing down, and she lets out a sharp laugh when he stumbles a bit and ends up trying to play it smooth by walking next to her.

"Nah, I'm pretty content carrying our entire group's food and water for the next two weeks around, while simultaneously being on constant alert for any possible risks or foes."

His eyes light up with teasing malice as he grins at her before his eyes turn back to the road ahead, obviously too hardy and serious to continue their joking around. She lets him speed up a bit as his eyes skim the map in his dirty hand, the smudged paper ripped and torn from past brawls or rough nights.

They've been at this for about three months now. After the news broke and people started being ripped from their families due to 'high risk factors', everyone started to panic. Luckily, she had been part of their organisation for about a month before the disease emerged, so when she was left with nothing but the few clothes she already had, they were ready to take her in.

"Hey, Ep', can I have some water?" Joly's quiet voice makes its way into her ears as he falls into step beside her. She knows how hard this is for him, understands that he is running out of Prozac, that he is probably the strongest person here.

She gives him a small smile and reaches to the side of her backpack which is slung on her left shoulder. She passes him the half full flask of water and he takes it graciously, immediately opening it and taking a sip. "How you feelin'?"

"Alright. We've just been walking for a while." She nods in understanding, taking it back and lodging it back in the strap of her backpack.

"It won't be long now, Enjolras reckons we should find a safe spot within the next few hours." He nods and looks back to the road, his eyes looking tired.

She nudges his shoulder with her own and smiles a little. "Hey, don't worry, if you need to stop, we can. Enj' will understand, I think even he needs a break soon."

He gives a small nod and slows down, waiting for Bossuet and Bahorel, the guys at the back of the group. Bahorel there to warn and protect everyone from any people coming from behind, Bossuet there because he tripped and twisted his ankle a couple of miles behind them.

They'll need to stop soon anyway, Marius is whimpering from a couple of people behind her, and Enjolras is walking with a limp in front of her. Plus, she hasn't slept in about a day and the rucksack is really starting to drag her down.

* * *

><p>They didn't ever really find out what the disease was. The first couple of days were spent with emergency vaccines being given to children and women, then the next thing she knew, Gav' was being taken away and she was being held back.<p>

They're on the run now, since everybody was either supposed to be quarantined or sent to another country, one that hasn't been infected yet. However, from what the group has heard through their shitty radio, almost every country has been affected. They've had to escape a few times from authorities, mostly because they know they would all be split up again if they got caught. They've already lost enough to lose each other.

Luckily, because the group is diverse and each and every one of them have different skills, they have managed to survive this long. Combeferre and Joly have the most knowledge about what is going on; both doctors who decided to joined the organisation a couple of years ago, but chose to desert their jobs and help the group persevere.

They've saved their lives a couple of times. One time, Cosette got a nasty gash on her thigh from jumping over a wall when running from another group of survivors, and both men worked together all night to bandage it up and make sure it didn't become infected. She still has a massive scar, but she can successfully run on it now and that's more than they could have ever hoped for.

Cosette is a martial arts specialist, and she knows a lot about self defence. Teamed with Bahorel, the two of them have taught the group how to survive in a fight against another group. Their expertise has come in use more times than it should have, due to so many other smaller groups attacking Les Amis because of its supplies.

Grantaire and Jehan are the next pair with similar qualities. They both have a knack for creating useful things from common items around them. Not only does this mean they can work out a powerful way to keep them safe at night by fashioning a good hideout or cover, but they can also come up with ingenious plans and ideas that have helped them many a time when they had almost ran out of ways to survive, places to go, or general thoughts on what to possibly do next.

Feuilly and Marius teamed up when they realised that they both were previous scouts, so they have general knowledge of how to light a fire and which plants are safe to eat and which would kill them just by touching them. Believe it or not, their skills have applied to many situations, and their basic understanding of how to tie a stable knot once helped Grantaire climb down a very deep hole to retrieve their bags.

Courfeyrac and Bossuet are the logistics of the group. When Grantaire and Jehan give ideas, the two of them work out whether it is possible and, if so, how they would manage it. Bossuet has to skim all his ideas to Courfeyrac before they follow through with them, however, after a nasty experience with a crumbling bridge and Bossuet's unlucky navigating skills.

And, last but not least, is the mighty Enjolras. At least, that's what he thinks. And most of the Les Amis think, but whatever. He sees himself as the leader, but really he is just a pompous, stuck up, private schooled man with heavenly looks that are commonly set in a frown. Because he has a loud voice, good grades, and very heavy opinions on everything, he was somehow given the role of the leader.

What he doesn't know though, is that she does everything anyway. First the idea is thought of, then checked over by Courfeyrac or Bossuet, then decided by Enjolras. But, every single time, the big man glances over at her before giving the final conclusion, always checking whether she likes the idea, or thinks it's a death wish. She's the one who controls the group, the one that tells them when to stop or if they should continue. She has power over the group, even if they don't realise it.

* * *

><p>"Ép."<p>

She stirs a bit. She's trying to fucking sleep. Whoever the fuck is saying her name will have to wait.

"Hey, Ép."

She groans a bit, the noise not stopping. She knows who it is now, and it's only fuelling her desire to ignore it.

"Éponine?"

She opens her eyes then. "What the fuck do you want?"

He's sat up when her eyes finally adjust to the light. His hair is a mess and the red shirt he's wearing is crumpled and creased, not at all appropriate for the October weather. He looks freezing and the wooden shed they found at the back of an abandoned house is obviously doing nothing for the goosebumps on his arms. Courfeyrac had said that sleeping in the house would be too predictable, so it would be best to find the next best thing. Too bad the next best thing was a damp, freezing, tiny shed with a broken window and a leaky ceiling.

"Were you asleep?" He's slumped against the wall next to her, but she's afraid that if she sits up too, she'll disturb Courfeyrac who is currently snuggled up behind her, one arm draped across her waist.

"Of course I was. You should be too. Go to sleep." She closes her eyes again, but knows that won't shut him up. It hasn't before, so it won't now. She opens her eyes again. "Alright, what's up?"

"How are you feeling?"

She actually cannot believe this. "I'm feeling pretty fucking exhausted. Why, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling quite tired too."

She sighs and closes her eyes again. "Then go to sleep and stop bugging me."

He stays quiet for about a minute.

"Do you think this is ever going to end?"

The fragility in his voice makes her heart stop for a moment. She has never heard him speak like that before, never heard his voice quiver. She opens her eyes and stares at him.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not even winter yet and we're all freezing to death, there's no way we can all survive another couple of months like this. We're running out of supplies too. I mean, who knows when we'll find some more drinkable water? And food? Everything is gone. There's nothing left, and we're obviously going to get raided again. Grantaire is still vulnerable from the knock to his head the other day, one more injury and he's gone. Not only that, but we still don't know what the infection is. We still don't know how it is contracted, don't know how to stop it, we don't know anything." He takes a deep breath. "Just... Do you think something will happen that will magically save us?"

"I don't believe in miracles, Enj'. I don't see how anybody could when this has happened." When he doesn't speak, she continues. "I think we just have to carry on. We can't stop, and you know it."

He hums in response. She closes her eyes. "It's gonna be okay, Enj'. Stop worrying and go to sleep."

She hears him shuffle about and lay on the floor again, settling down beside her but not touching her in the slightest way. She lets herself relax again and feels Courfeyrac pull her closer to his body. As she's drifting off to sleep, she swears she hears Enjolras whisper, but she can't be sure of it.

"Thanks, Ép'."

* * *

><p><strong>So so I'm going to write a multi chapter. If you have any suggestions, please tell me! Thank you! <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Bahorel was the first to notice the snow. They were walking around a farm trying to find either somewhere to stay or possibly some supplies. Unfortunately, the house had already been raided by another group, so nothing was left but a few smashed windows and a couple of bed sheets. Her and Enjolras had been checking the pantry for any forgotten items when they heard Bahorel exclaim "Look!" from outside.

Fearing the worst, her and Enjolras had rushed outside and expected to see a group of men beating up a member of their organisation. However, they were greeted with Bahorel and Grantaire jumping up and down while powdery snow fell to the ground. Marius and Cosette were curled up next to each other, laughing at each other as Marius ate snowflakes.

Courfeyrac had come up behind her, picked her up and span her around, joyously laughing as snow got in his curls.

At the time, the snow had been fun and exciting, a childish dream. But, of course, in the situation given, it was not the most ideal weather, especially when the only shelter they had was the broken in farm house and a couple of bloodstained sheets they had only just found.

* * *

><p>They only stayed at the farmhouse for two days, Courfeyrac stating that another group could be nearing the area soon, so they left. Enjolras agreed, claiming that he and Éponine should plan where they would go next together. The two of them had ended up talking for about two hours, weighing up all the different options on where to go and what to do. She admits, whilst he is the most irritating man she has ever come across, his ideas are very good.<p>

Right now, though? She was about to kill him.

"Enjolras, I'm not gonna fucking say it again, I just heard someone."

"You're wrong, just tired. Trust me."

Fuck that, she _had_ heard someone. About fifty yards back, just after Marius had stopped humming some song she didn't know. It sounded like someone saying 'stop', but since their entire group was silent at that time, she _knows_ it was somebody else.

"I'm not delusional, Enjolras. I know what I heard." Standing behind him, she whispered harshly at his back, glaring daggers at the black fabric of his hoodie.

"Éponine, we can't risk stopping. We need to find somewhere safe." He didn't stop walking, and she's sure she saw his pace pick up.

Courfeyrac adds in from beside her, squeezing her hand as he does so. "Enjolras, maybe you should listen to 'Ponine. I mean, she was right the last time this happened, and-"

"Éponine, if we do stop, what do you propose we do, huh? Just sit down and wait until another group attacks us, or go for the more logical reason, and carry on to find a place to hide?" Despite his words, he actually stops walking and turns around to face her, and through the dim light of the lamp Cosette was holding, she swears she sees anger interlaced with fear on his face. He's close to her now, and she can see how the muscle in his jaw contracts as he clenches his teeth.

Letting go of Courfeyrac's warm hand, she moves closer to him. Not close enough to touch him, but near enough to get up in his face. "Cosette, Grantaire, Joly, and Bossuet need to be in the middle of pack- they were injured the latest. Bahorel, Courfeyrac, and the rest of us need to be on the outside to alert everyone if something happens." She shrugs, but doesn't break eye contact with the man. "That's all. Just lookin' out for the team."

He doesn't break eye contact with her as he nods, but then skims his eyes over the group. "You heard her, we haven't got all night."

Everybody moves quickly and silently, still wary of both Éponine and Enjolras' rising tempers. A confrontation like this has happened before, so the group know how to deal with it. Usually, their leaders leave the subject for a while, but let their anger simmer and boil until it explodes into a large argument when they're all trying to sleep.

She feels Courfeyrac grab her hand again, and he smiles at her as Enjolras turns and looks at the two of them, his eyes running down their arms and to their interlinked hands, then quickly moving to see the formation of the group. Obviously, stood at the head of the pack, he feels in charge, so nods his head as if in confirmation or approval.

"Okay, so the safe place shouldn't be far from here, we just need to-"

She hears a grunt and then a thud and she knows something has gone terribly wrong. There isn't much light, so she can't see most of the group, only the couple in front of her and a few hazy silhouettes. Cosette screams and she feels everybody moving around her, but she just stands there in horror and shock. Courfeyrac pulls her closer to his body, trying to pull her away from the group.

Cosette's lamp has lost any use now, as it has fallen to the floor, and everybody is rushing around and kicking it over. Despite the fact that she knows something serious has happened, and the knowledge that people are pushing into her and Courfeyrac, she feels as though everything is happening in slow motion.

People are shouting, but the only thing she can see or feel is Courfeyrac's arm around her stomach. What a pathetic leader she is, making her group stop and get attacked by others. Not only that, but she's not even helping, not doing anything, just clinging to her boyfriend's shaking arm.

Over the noise, she hears a yell, followed by a scream of terror.

"Where's Feuilly?" Bossuet says it quietly, but she hears it. He repeat it more loudly, but nobody seems to hear him except herself. As much as she tries, she just can't seem to open her mouth, never mind speak.

She can faintly see the sharp edges of Enjolras' shoulders, and she thinks she sees him push someone away, but she can't work out who. She frowns and tries to move into the rush of people, but Courfeyrac's arm is strong. He's pulled her about five metres away from them all now, slow steps backwards away from the danger. She can hear his heavy breathing in her ear, but she feels adrenaline seeping into her veins and her breathing becomes erratic.

She attempts to struggle out of his grasp, but he wraps his other arm around her. She can feel something sharp digging into her spine, but she forgets about it quickly when Courfeyrac whispers in her ear, his cold breath chilling her to the bone.

"Just be quiet, Ép'. Don't try and help them, please." She's never heard Courfeyrac sound so desperate and scared, so she abides by his words and waits.

There's another scream and a yell of "No!" from somewhere in the middle of the clash, but she can't work out who it's from or what it's about. Her and Courfeyrac are no longer on the dirt road, and have instead back stepped onto a patch of grass, crunchy underneath their feet. Luckily, the screams of their friends cover that up.

She understands why Courfeyrac is doing this, of course. But she sees Enjolras get punched and she has to squeeze Courfeyrac's arm until he whimpers in her ear and tells her "it's okay". Which, of course it isn't. Her and Enjolras are a team, she should be there knocking the guy who hurt him to the ground. Yet, here she is, safe from all the danger, simply _watching_ Marius get thrown to the floor, and Joly get knocked in the head.

After about thirty seconds more of fighting, the thuds and screams begin to die down, and she thinks she can hear footsteps pounding down the dirt path away from them. She tries to make out who is left, but the only figure she can fully make out is the tall stature of Enjolras, his back rigid and his arm tucked into his chest.

All she can hear now is heavy breathing. Somebody whimpers, and she thinks it's Cosette, and she instinctively moves forward, but is restrained by Courfeyrac again.

"Have they gone?" Marius pants this out, still keeping his voice quiet just on case. She can't see him, but she can imagine him, red in the face, his hair messed up and clothes ajar. Probably a dream in this situation, the reality a whole lot worse.

The lamp moves from the floor and she follows the arm holding it up to the head and sees Bahorel's clean shaven head. He's moving around and seeing if there's anybody not from their group still with them.

"They're gone."

She watches as they all congregate together, like moths to the flame. Bahorel hands the lamp to Enjolras, and he looks around the group again, probably just checking to see if Bahorel was correct.

"Where's Éponine?"

She can't respond. Her mouth is still glued shut, and she squeezes Courfeyrac's arm in hopes that he'll answer for her. She's still in shock, and she feels ashamed, scared of what they will think of her and the cowardice she just proved to the group.

Enjolras says it louder, more demanding.

"Where is Éponine?"

Courfeyrac takes a deep breath. "We're here." He says it quietly, but the entire group turns to them, and she squints as the light focuses on them.

Enjolras sighs, and his whole body relaxes just a bit. He keeps the light on them, and she takes a step forward and is relieved to feel Courfeyrac slide his arm from around her waist and onto her hand. They walk slowly to the group and Enjolras doesn't move the lamp until she can clearly see the cut above his right eye, and the blood dripping from his lip and down his chin. He seems to be checking her over, eyes skimming over her whole body as if to look for any injuries.

Satisfied, he makes eye contact with her before moving the light to the rest of the group. "Are we all here?"

Immediately, Bossuet answers. "No."

Cosette's quivering voice replies quickly, horror dripping from the soprano's usually light tone. "What?"

He continues. "Combeferre and Feuilly are gone."

She gasps, but feels a heavy pang of guilt drop in her stomach.

Enjolras swallows audibly. Nods his head once. "Right." Nods his head several times. "Okay."

Marius whimpers, then speaks. "Is Grantaire here?"

She looks around frantically. She feels tears well up in her eyes and she finds herself squeezing Courfeyrac's hand tighter than before.

Enjolras' eyes are shining as well, but he looks down, crossing the lamp to his other hand and turning his head to look to the right of them. Ever the unfeeling marble statue. "Is everybody okay?"

There's a murmur from everybody in the group, but Éponine still stays silent. She can see that nobody is 'okay', in fact, most of them have rips and stains on their clothing, and almost every single one of them has a limb that they're trying to desperately support.

Enjolras gulps again. "Then let's carry on." He steels his head, turns around, and carries on down the road.

* * *

><p>Besides her and Courfeyrac, none of them were alright. Bahorel was stabbed in the forearm, the gash deep. Joly was working on it while resting his own leg that was twisted and stood on when he was pushed to the floor during the initial attack and consequent panic.<p>

Marius was laid down, his head resting on Enjolras' screwed up hoodie, resting from concussion. Cosette was sat next to him, her eyes glued to her watch with instructions to wake her fiancé up every fifteen minutes. Her arm was bandaged thanks to Jehan due to a long cut stretching from her wrist to just below her elbow, and Éponine could distinctly see red patches of blood dripping into the white material.

Jehan considered himself lucky with only a twisted ankle that he was currently resting, his eyes shut as he laid his head on the grey wall. Bossuet, for once, somehow only managed to get a cut on his lip and busted knuckles, but he was sat, looking out the window with such a distressed look on his face that Éponine felt like she should go and talk to him.

Enjolras was sat up against the wall, his left arm bandaged and strapped as he cradled his wrist to his chest. He had sprained it somehow, but had refused any help, choosing to look after himself. His left eye was almost closed, a black eye forcing his blue eye shut, but his right eye was trained solely on his right fingers as he drummed them on his dirty jeans. He had several other cuts on his face and arms, but he refused to speak about any of them, snapping every time anybody offered help.

Éponine and Courfeyrac were the only healthy ones. They sat, huddled together, his arm over her shoulders as she laid her head in the crook of his neck.

They had almost walked past an abandoned church in the dark, and it was Jehan who stopped them and urged them inside. It was empty, but Éponine and Courfeyrac had sat next to the door just in case of emergency.

* * *

><p>She was trying to sleep. Once again, she was woken up by <em>his<em> voice. Keeping her eyes closed and her breathing steady, she didn't move.

"Hey." She felt Enjolras' arm brush her shoulder as he pushed Courfeyrac's chest a little, which made her move a bit. Not wanting to alert either of them, she kept her balance and didn't make a sound. Courfeyrac is a very heavy sleeper, and even the loudest noise has been known to not even stir him.

Courfeyrac tensed beside her and she felt the arm that was wrapped around her stomach turn stiff. "Hmm?"

"Courfeyrac?" Enjolras was whispering.

Courfeyrac cleared his throat a little. "Enjolras?"

"Thanks for what you did today."

Courfeyrac's head shifted, lifting off of their makeshift pillow. "What?"

"Taking Éponine away from the attack."

She tried not to tense and fought to keep her breathing in check.

"Oh, well, yeah. I didn't want her to get hurt, you know?"

She heard Enjolras' curls moving. "Yeah, I know."

Silence.

Enjolras continued. "Thanks anyway."

Courfeyrac just nodded, his head flopping back onto the pillow and his arm wrapping tighter around her waist.

* * *

><p><strong>I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Freedom909 because they're super cool and always leave reviews for me. Thank you so much for reading my story, as well as liking it, it really encourages me to do more!<strong>

** Hope you like this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

"How are you?"

Cosette looked at her and sighed. Her eyes looked tired and she seemed as thought she had been crying.

"Not-not bad. Could be better."

Éponine nods. She can't even attempt to feel the same, she got out of the attack completely fine, no injuries at all.

"Tell me if you need anything."

Cosette nods and turns back to a sleeping Marius. Éponine stands and walks over to Enjolras who is slouched against a wall, apart from everybody else as usual. He sees her walking towards him and he straightens up a bit, clearing his throat as she slides down the wall next to him.

They sit in silence for a while. He has avoided all conversation for the past two days, ever since the attack. They haven't left the church, focusing solely on getting everybody back to full-or almost full- health before working out how to locate their friends.

"How are you feeling?"

She jumps a bit, not expecting his voice to sound as deep as it did, especially when right next to her ear.

"I-I'm fine. I didn't get hurt at all. How are you?"

He nods a bit. "I know. Thank god for Courfeyrac, right?"

She chuckles a bit. "I know, he's a lifesaver."

He hums a bit, but doesn't say anything.

She speaks quieter, her voice softer. "I'm sorry that I didn't help. I should have, I know that, but-"

"In the attack?" He turns to face her.

So she turns to look at him. "Yeah. We're the leaders, I should have stepped in and intervened. I should have protected everyone, _I_ should be hurt, not Marius or Cosette or anyone in this church. I don't even want to think about what is happening to the rest of us."

He brings his left hand to her knee and squeezes it, successfully shutting her up. "Stop it. If Courfeyrac hadn't taken you away, I would have, and then neither of us would have been able to help."

She nods and looks into his eyes for a couple of moments. They're very close now and she can feel his breath on her lips. His gaze is flickering between her eyes and her lips and she feels something weird settle in the pit of her stomach, a weird sense of longing and trepidation mixed into one. His face is slowly making its way closer to hers and she keeps her eyes open when his close slowly.

"Éponine?" She turns quickly towards the voice. Bahorel was stood about five feet away from her, his eyes wide, and his body ready to move. His wound was starting to heal, and the bandage that she had wrapped for him that morning was still intact.

She hears a sigh from next to her and she vaguely sees Enjolras resting his head on the wall behind them as she looks at Bahorel. He continues. "Joly wants your help."

She smiles and nods at him. "Okay, I'll be right there." He turns around and walks away, moving faster than needed.

"Well, I guess I have to go." She says it as cheerfully as possible.

"Right."

She stands up and nods at him. "Tell me if you need anything, alright?"

She hears a faint murmur of 'sure' as she turns and walks towards the opposite corner of the room where Joly is laying down, Bahorel sat up next to him.

As she walks past the central aisle of the church, she feels Courfeyrac's eyes following her and she tries to lift her head a bit higher.

* * *

><p>They don't leave for another three days. Their supplies start to dwindle, despite the significant lack of people to feed, so they make a considered decision to move on. Everybody says they're ready to move, but Éponine can still see the limp in Joly's stride and the fragility of Cosette's arm.<p>

Enjolras pretends he didn't get hurt at all, and doesn't answer when anybody asks if he's okay. Just as well, Éponine would rather not completely know how injured he got because she wasn't there. He can walk and he can talk, and that's enough for Éponine.

"Stay together, everyone. We're going to carry on moving north. If you see anything of use or alarm, alert somebody immediately-"

Éponine interrupts him. "What about the others?"

Enjolras freezes, his voice faltering. "We-we need to get supplies first, we can set up a plan then, once we know we have enough to keep _us_ alive."

Joly jumps in. "But how do we know if the _rest_ of us are alive?"

"Please don't say that." Enjolras squeezes his eyes shut and Éponine nearly flinches at the pain in his voice. "Supplies first, then we'll find the others. Okay?" Nobody says anything. "Okay."

They head out, Enjolras at the front with a stone cold face and rips in his hoodie.

* * *

><p>"I've missed you."<p>

She's cuddled up with Courfeyrac on a blanket in the middle of an old coffee shop they found. They were cautious when they saw that nobody had even attempted to break the glass windows in, but to make it seem less suspicious to others, Jehan had managed to pick the entrance. They're all locked in the back room, the steel bolt opened and shoved shut by Bahorel. They found some left over cans and packets of food hidden in some cupboards, and the bottles of water Joly retrieved from the back of a pantry made them all sigh with relief and happiness.

The room is quite big in fairness, especially considering some of the places they've lodged in before. They found several supplies that will definitely come in handy during the next couple of weeks, two blankets, a coat from a lost property, along with an umbrella, a red scarf, and a tattered hat from the same box. At the present moment, Joly is still looking through the many cupboard and doors in the room, desperately trying to find things the owners might have left behind.

Courfeyrac is sat up and her head is in his lap as she lays on the blue blanket. "What are you talking about? We've constantly seen each other for the past four months, there's no way you could have missed me."

He chuckles, twiddling a piece of her hair between his fingers. "No, I've missed these moments where we can just be us two. No fear of injury or if we're safe to go to sleep, just being calm and in love."

She smiles and sits up, facing him. "I suppose you're right. I missed you too." She kisses him, resting her hand on his shoulder as he leans into her. His hands thread through her hair and she fights the urge to lean down onto the blanket and bring him with her. This is a small moment, they don't have time for this in the world they're currently living in. She pulls back, ignoring the moan of protest and tilt of his head to keep their lips together, sighing as she rest her cheek on his shoulder, her face turning to look to the side.

He whispers something to her, but she doesn't catch it because she just manages to make eye contact with Enjolras' pained face as he looks to the side and glares at the floor.

She feels a sick sense of dread in her stomach and turns to nestle her head in Courfeyrac's neck.

* * *

><p>When they go to sleep that night, she hears somebody crying. She knows it isn't Courfeyrac, his body is still and relaxed beside her, but the thought of who it could be keeps her awake until Bahorel starts his nightly sleep talk which helps her forget.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading! if anybody has any ideas or comments, please tell me! Hope you liked it! :)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, listen up guys. This chapter is NSFW, just sayin'. just in case anybody isn't comfortable with it, I will put a warning like this at the beginning of the chapter. Thanks for reading anyway! Hope you like it! **

* * *

><p>She wakes up the next morning to find nobody beside her. In fact, she can't see anybody in front of her either.<p>

Sitting up, she frantically looks around. Eyes wide, she sees Cosette curled up in the corner, tears in her eyes.

She clears her throat and speaks fast. "Where are they?"

Cosette wraps her arms tighter around her knees. "I don't know. I woke up and they were gone."

Éponine shakes her head and fear, anger, and sadness hit her all at once.

"How," she clears her throat when her voice wavers, "how long have you been awake?"

Cosette shrugs. "Two hours, maybe three."

Éponine stands up abruptly, pacing around the room. Cosette jumps but Éponine is too focused to feel bad. "Did they not leave a note or something, anything?"

Cosette takes a deep breath and her voice gains some confidence. "No, nothing."

"Okay, okay. So we wait. They probably left to go and find more supplies."

She slides down the wall next to Cosette, her hand reaching for hers. "I didn't even notice Marius go."

Éponine nods. "I know, neither did I."

"God, he should have told me! What does he think he's doing? I'm in better health than him right now, I should have gone instead of him!"

Éponine nods, letting Cosette settle back down. "I don't understand either. Enjolras always says that we're a team, but if it actually involves me going out and doing stuff, he freaks out. It's stupid."

"Well, yeah, Ep', but you can't blame him."

Éponine swiftly turns her head, a frown on her face. "Excuse me?"

Cosette looks at her in alarm. "Not-not that you can't do it, it's just because of-of-"

Éponine tenses. "Of what?"

Cosette recoils into herself, her head moving down. "N-nothing."

Éponine calms down, knowing Cosette doesn't like to argue. It's one of the main reasons she's with such a pushover as Marius- or, at least, that's what Éponine thinks.

They sit in silence for a while. Besides Cosette's faltered breathing and Éponine's raspy cough, there is no sound. Éponine thinks Cosette falls asleep at one point, but she doesn't dare move her head in case she wakes her. Cosette panics a lot and Éponine thinks her asthma pump is running low. She needs to rest, so she leaves her.

After an amount of time that Éponine didn't even try to measure, she hears mumbling outside the door. She shakes Cosette a bit, sitting up straight.

Cosette hums a little and her eyes are dazed for a couple of seconds, but once she hears the sound, she jumps up and crosses her arms. Éponine follows suit, her eyes hard and her body language mirroring Cosette's. There's a certain fear that it might not be their group, so Éponine looks around the room for a weapon. Not moving so as to not alert Cosette, she spies a plank of wood Jehan knocked from a cupboard yesterday and prepares herself to use it if need be.

Bahorel tumbles through the door after a couple of bangs on the metal, and Éponine relaxes a bit but keeps her steel demeanour. The boys filter through the door, all stopping when they see the girls. Marius looks afraid, his fingers twitching which is a sure demonstration of his fear. Bahorel does look a bit guilty, but his goofy grin shows through anyway.

Jehan is avoiding eye contact, instead choosing to mess with the hem of his sweatshirt, his chipped black nail polish teasing the purple cotton. Joly has a look of horror on his face, his eyes flicking between Éponine and Cosette while he almost shakes. Bossuet does look scared, but he hides behind Jehan so Éponine can barely see his wide eyes.

Courfeyrac gives Éponine a small smile, but quickly drops it when he sees her hard glare. She sees a flurry of gold behind Courfeyrac, but her eyes are trained on her boyfriend.

"Where the fuck have you been?"

Courfeyrac opens his mouth, "En-"

"Did you think it was funny to leave me and Cosette alone?"

Courfeyrac's eyes widen, "well-"

"Both Cosette and I are more than capable of joining you on your little escapades, we don't need protecting."

Jehan lifts a hand, "actu-"

"No. Don't even try, Jehan. If you think you can just leave us out, then you may as well just leave us and become your own group because we're obviously not a team." Marius whimpers, but Éponine carries on. "It's not fair that we had to stay here, completely in the dark of where you had gone or what you were doing. We were worried, we were panicking, and it was utterly wrong for you to do what you did." She turns to Cosette. "Cosette, anything you'd like to add?"

Cosette still glares at the boys. "Nope, I think you touched on everything there."

Éponine nods. "Good. Now come here, Courf'." She moves to Courfeyrac and wraps her arms around him, squeezing her eyes shut at the tight embrace.

He mumbles into her hair, "I'm sorry, we won't do it again."

"Damn straight, you won't. You even dare to leave without telling me anything again and I will lock you out and let everybody else in."

He laughs. "You wouldn't last a day without me."

"Don't test me."

He hugs her again and she pulls back to see Cosette and Marius hugging as well. Bahorel and Jehan are laughing about something in a corner of the room, and she turns to see Bossuet and Joly opening a bag. Courfeyrac's arm loosens from around her waist and she sees Enjolras stood in the corner, a frown on his face.

"Enjolras. Outside. Now."

He looks up in alarm, licking his lips and stepping outside the door, his head hanging. She turns to Courfeyrac, seeing a look of unease on his face as he watches Enjolras walk through the door. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt him too much."

Courfeyrac squeezes her hand. "I love you."

She smiles and lets go to walk towards the door. "Love you too."

Turning and closing the door behind her, she sees Enjolras leaning against the wall on her right. He stands up when he sees her and she walks towards him, a look of anger contorting her face.

"You know, you say you need my help and that you can't manage the team without me, yet you do this."

"We went to look for the others."

Éponine silences for a bit. "And?"

Enjolras shakes his head. "Nothing."

She nods. "Why couldn't Cosette and I go?"

"Courfeyrac and Marius wouldn't let me wake you both. I felt a bit lost without you to stop me from doing stupid things."

She nods again. "I understand. You are a bit useless without me."

He chuckles, a smile creeping onto his face. "I'm sorry for not telling you."

"Just- next time, make sure to wake me, or at least leave a note, alright?"

He nods, a tender look coming onto his face. "Do you want to yell at me?"

She contemplates for a while, staring at his face. "No."

He releases a breath. "Good. I don't think I could handle another telling off from you. They always hurt." He throws her a smile.

"Are you okay, Enjolras?"

He starts, but quickly straightens his back. "I'm fine. Are we finished here?"

"No- no, we're not. Why the hell do you keep avoiding that question?"

He shakes his head. "Because I am fine. I'm _fine_."

She lets out a breath of agitation. "No, you're not."

He is silent for a while. She watches him. "I'm scared."

She feels like this is going to be some big moment in her life, that it's very important, but she's too caught up in the fact that Enjolras is actually opening up to her to think about it. "Of what?"

"What's happening. It's intimidating." She nods. "I've always been able to control what's happening in my life, but everything is totally out of my hands now. I'm completely useless."

She doesn't know what to say, so she keeps quiet.

He continues. "Everybody looks to me for guidance, and I can't show everyone else what to do when I don't even know myself. And then there's _you_." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I can't even talk about you."

She does a double take. "Excuse me?"

"Sometimes I feel like you do it on purpose, you know." It looks like he's in his own world, taking to only himself. "But then something happens that just completely makes me forget about everything else, and I'm fully distracted. I can't even-"

"Wait, I don't understand what you're talking about." She shakes her head, everything he's saying making no sense in her brain.

He looks her in the eyes. "You completely astound me, Éponine."

She shakes her head again, still not understanding. "I don't-"

"I know you don't understand. It's best that you don't." He looks to the floor. "Which is why we should go back inside." He makes a step for the door.

Everything is happening to fast, but she manages to put her hand on his chest and stop him. "Just-just stop talking for a second and let me try and process this, 'kay?"

He doesn't move, but she can feel his gaze on her. She's staring at the floor, but his words still don't make sense to her.

"Is it that hard to believe, Ép'?"

She looks up at him. "What?"

She vaguely sees his face near hers and his arms wrap around her waist, but she doesn't totally register what is happening until his tongue is in her mouth and her hands are in his hair. She's kissing Enjolras and she can't seem to stop. It feels like something she knew would happen all along, but her mind is too preoccupied right now to analyse that part.

She pulls back to breath, and he open his eyes and rest his head on hers. His eyes are darker than she remembers, but they widen with fear once she actually focuses on them.

"I-I-"

She shushes him and pulls his head back down by the neck to push their lips together, he's startled for a couple of seconds, but he quickly resumes his past work. His hands are moving up and down her back and pressing her into him. She can feel evidence of his arousal on her stomach, and she marvels at how little time it took. She pushes her hands under his shirt and the coolness shocks her. He groans and presses his hand onto the back of her neck to keep her there, but she's gained her regular thoughts back now, and she pulls back, almost pushing him away.

He's breathing hard and his hair is even messier than usual, his eyes are wide and she can clearly see the bulge in his jeans. She looks around, a panic settling in her just in case anybody saw them.

"You-you, uh, might wanna fix that." She gestures towards his crotch, and his face goes red.

"I-I- yeah." He stares at her nonetheless, a faint look of hope in his eyes.

She runs her hands through her hair. "Can we just- can't we just forget that happened?"

Enjolras looks at the floor, all hope gone. "I can't do that."

She nods, and frowns. She finds herself staring at the protrusion in his jeans again. "We can't let you go back in there like that."

He looks up, clearly startled. "Well-", he cuts himself off, audibly swallowing instead.

She walks towards him, and he automatically steps backwards until he's pressed against the wall. "You're gonna have to keep quiet."

He nods quickly, his eyes wide. She reaches up and kisses him again and his arms make their way around her waist again, pulling her closer to him. She leans back and works at the button of his jeans, smiling when she undoes it on the first go. Quickly unzipping his zipper, she reaches into his boxers but immediately stops when she hears him gasp. Looking up with a stern look on her face, she almost stops her scolding when she sees his expression. His head is tilted backwards against the wall while his eyes are staring at her, his mouth open. She can feel his hands twitching and stretching on her back, and she grins a little. "What did I tell you about making noise?"

He nods again, but makes the same noise when she squeezes his dick. She glares at him again, but carries on this time. His body is tense and she can feel him twitching in her hand. A sudden problem comes into her mind, so she quickly thinks of an easy solution, kneeling down and pulling his dick out of the blue boxer shorts. He groans when she rubs him, and she almost laughs when he jumps when the tip of her tongue touches the head. He looks down to her in alarm, his eyes almost popping out of his head.

"Remember, be quiet. Also, if you could please make this as quick as possible, you'd be an absolute dear."

He leans his head back and gives a quick yet breathless answer. "I don't think that's gonna be a problem."

She giggles, but begins to actually worry that somebody may walk out and look for them. They haven't said anything loudly in a while, so she quickly improvises. "God, Enjolras, you're so stupid. Cosette and I aren't damsels in distress that need to be saved, we can actually help."

He looks shocked for a while, but despite his laboured breathing he manages to catch on. "Éponine, I'm not risking losing another member. Get that through your thick skull and maybe you'll realise I'm trying to help you here." His voice cuts out halfway through his last word because she takes his full dick into her mouth.

She begins to suck and the moans she receives are so nice that she actually can't work up the willpower to stop him. She's definitely not the most virginal girl, and he knows that, so she uses all her tricks on him. At one point, she's sure his legs almost give way, but he quickly pulls himself back up and pushes his hands into her hair.

True to his word, his hands begin to tense in her hair and he begins to lose control of his hips, rapidly pushing into her mouth. Luckily, she's used to the feel of it, her and Courfeyrac having a lot of experience. His hands squeeze her hair and she can feel his dick twitch in her mouth.

"Éponine... Éponine." He's mumbling her name already and she can't think of a way to stop him from doing something he'll regret.

She feels the cum hit her throat and she almost expects the shout of her name, but the reality still makes fear drop in the pit of her stomach. She quickly swallows it all, the thick liquid taking a while to finish. His breathing is hard and his eyes are dazed as he stares at her. She quickly stands up, wipes her mouth and shouts at the top of her voice. "Don't you dare raise your voice at me, Enjolras, I will make your life a living hell."

He's still slumped against the wall, but he still looks shocked at her shout. She puts his member back in his boxers and does his jeans for him, almost laughing at his stunned face. He pulls her to him, kissing her lips gently. She quickly pulls back, trying to get back into the room and away from what just happened. She nods and steps away, turning around and walking quickly towards the door. Opening it with a heavy tug, she smooths her hair down and sets an angry look on her face.

She is met with some scared faces, Jehan and Joly asleep, slumped against the wall. She walks towards Courfeyrac and sits down next to him, knowing that everybody is looking at her. "I slapped Enjolras." She swears Courfeyrac smiles at her, but she's too busy looking at everybody's shocked faces to focus on it.

Cosette's cautious voice comes from next to Marius. "Where is he?"

She leans back and lets Courfeyrac's arm fall over her shoulders. "I don't know, I just stormed away from him. He's probably calming down." Not completely untrue. She turns to Courfeyrac and relaxes when she hears the others begin their conversations again.

Three minutes later, Enjolras opens the door, locking it behind him. He looks normal, nothing disarrayed, everything in order and neatly done. She doesn't think he could choose to enter the room at a worst time, because her lips are currently stuck to Courfeyrac's as she makes eye contact with him over the mop of brown hair.

* * *

><p>He's a terrible actor. She acts normal with him, cordial and professional. But he just can't get the adoring, hopeful look out of his eyes when he's talking to her. It's making her paranoid and she honestly feels like she has just ruined the entire group. If anybody finds out it will lead to the entire group knowing, <em>Courfeyrac<em> knowing, and that can't end well. They've already lost too many of their group, any more and their doomed.

They stay in the café, but they go out regularly, searching for supplies and the others, even though it would take a miracle to find them. They make a rota, five people at a time while four people stay behind and protect the café.

She's currently out with Courfeyrac, Enjolras, Jehan, and Bahorel, searching for supplies. They're running low on water so that is their main aim of the day, but she has no idea where to find it. The city is like a wasteland now, even though almost all the other major countries are still as usual, nothing changed. They love their country. They're not going to leave by force, especially not when being hoarded like animals to another country.

"It's getting cold." Jehan's voice cuts through the air and she jumps a little. For once, she's stood at the head of the group, Enjolras relegated to behind her for once.

Courfeyrac replies. "Would you like another jacket?" She turns her head just in time to see him begin to take off his own hoodie.

"It's- it's fine, I'll live."

Courfeyrac smiles at him, and shrugs his sleeve back up again. What can they say? It 'is' getting cold and sometime soon they're going to have to stay indoors constantly, they need all the supplies they can find now.

"I miss R." She says it and regrets it immediately. They can't talk about the people they've lost, it makes things too serious. But Grantaire is her best friend and she hasn't spoken about him since the attack.

Courfeyrac jogs up behind her and takes her hand. "We all do. We'll find them, don't worry. They're all strong, they can look after themselves for a while."

She nods and squeezes his hand a little. Everything goes silent for a couple of seconds, and then she hears sharp footsteps. They all freeze and she's sure they all have the same drop of dread in their stomachs.

Courfeyrac squeezes her hand and stands closer to her, his body tensing up. Everyone instinctively moves towards each other, closing in and holding onto each other. This is what they all planned thankfully, just in case a situation like this were to happen again. She thinks Enjolras is on her left, his hand grabbing hers and holding on carefully.

"What do we do?" Jehan says it quietly, and she really wishes she could hold his hand and reassure him because she knows how bad his anxiety is.

"Stay together. Let's just stay like this for a while, okay?" Bahorel whispers it to them and she feels adrenaline pump into her body.

Enjolras squeezes her hand and she instinctively holds it a little tighter. Courfeyrac sighs beside her and she feels so conflicted it hurts. Surely this is some cruel trick by whoever is watching over the situation. She has the power to break up their entire group by just revealing one little fact, and the weight it puts on her shoulders is too much to bare.

Her eyes are constantly on the look out, but all she can see is a large field, nothing but dried up grass and weeds. She hears Bahorel behind her. "Okay, let's keep moving."

They all turn, but still stay together, all crammed next to each other and wary of any noise. Moving as a group, they just walk down the road, not knowing where they're going. It's probably not a good idea to go straight back to their café, especially if there is somebody following them.

She hears a bang and then dread in her stomach. A sharp pain radiates from her left shoulder, and she blankly looks down at it, watching the blood seep into her clothing. Someone shouts from beside her, and then a flurry of noise as people talk quickly, all rushing towards her and trying to see the wound.

Everything turns into white noise as her eyes become blurry. She looks around desperately, all the faces around her becoming just colours as all thought drifts from her mind, the unbearable pain forcing her to collapse into someone.


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is also a bit NSFW. This is a long chapter too, so fasten your seatbelts and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

><p>She wakes up quickly. Opening her eyes for a split second, she sees a blinding white light before closing them immediately. She feels a numbness in her shoulder where she knows pain should be. She can hear talking, so she tries to listen in.<p>

"I just don't fucking understand. How the hell did they get a goddamn gun?"

Was that Courfeyrac?

"I don't know, but I'm gonna fucking find them."

Bahorel. Definitely Bahorel.

"Did you not see anyone?"

Cosette's voice is the clearest to her, even though it's full of fear and emotion.

"No. Nobody. Did you?"

Jehan.

"I didn't even think to look around after I heard the shot. I knew what had happened."

Enjolras.

She opens her eyes then. Slower this time, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She tries to sit up, but pain seeps into her arm and she falls down again. There are gasps around her and everyone simultaneously rushes towards her, the light being blocked by their forms.

"Are you okay?" Joly pushes through, laying a tender hand onto her wrist. "How is it feeling?"

She nods a bit, trying to force a smile for him. "I'm fine."

He frowns a bit, but gets pushed aside by Courfeyrac. "Ép, I'm here. Do you need anything? Don't worry, you're gonna be _fine_." She frowns at this. Why did he sound scared whilst saying that? He must realise because he corrects himself. "No, no, you _are_ fine. Joly patched you up, in a couple of days you'll be better than before." He begins to press kisses to her forehead and cheeks, making sure to avoid touching her left shoulder.

She can see outlines of people around her, but the only thing she can focus on is Courfeyrac's mop of hair as it crowds her direct eyeline. He looks her in the eyes and she smiles. "Would you like something? We- we've got water, Bahorel and Jehan found some after Enjolras and I brought you back here."

She clears her throat, but her voice still sound scratchy. "Can you help me sit up please?"

He nods quickly, looking to Joly. "How should I do this?"

Joly comes forward and places his hands hands on her waist, Courfeyrac supporting her back as they lean her against the wall. She can see everyone a lot clearly now.

Joly backs off a bit and lets Courfeyrac peck her lips. He pulls back with a hopeful smile. "Don't worry, you'll be good as new soon enough. You're just gonna have to deal with my assistance for a couple of days."

She chuckles. "So does that make you my slave?"

He grins, winking at her. "If that's what you want, m'lady."

She laughs, stopping when a pain shoots into her shoulder. Courfeyrac's eyes look alarmed as he shouts Joly, but the pain soothes a bit after she stops moving it. She just needs to rest it.

"Éponine, try and stay still."

She nods as convincingly as she can, but she's beginning to feel tired again. She's only been up for a couple of minutes, but her eyes are beginning to droop. She yawns and feels Courfeyrac stroke her hair. He helps her lay down again on the floor and he places the screwed up hoodie underneath her head again.

It isn't until her eyes are closed that she realised she hadn't seen Enjolras since she woke up, and she wonders why that is before falling asleep again.

* * *

><p>She wakes up to somebody stroking her hair. She smiles. Courfeyrac knows she likes it, and it's honesty comforting her so much right now. She open her eyes dazily, her right arm reaching up to feel her boyfriend's bicep.<p>

He's laid next to her, and she can only see a dark figure before her as she turns her head slowly, careful not to move her left arm at all. Joly said the bullet only just skimmed her arm, but she's not allowed to move it anyway. She frowns at the way his hair has fallen into his eyes, longer than usual, but let's it go as a trick of the darkness.

She swears she sees blue eyes as the face leans into hers, pressing his lips to hers. She returns the kiss with a welcome ferocity and feels the body move a little so his face can reach hers easier.

She feels him move his body so it's on top of hers, and she wraps her working arm around his neck. His hand squeezes her waist and he gently rocks his hips against hers, and that's how she knows it's Courfeyrac. She whimpers a little and feels him kiss her harder, probably to make sure nobody else wakes up.

She grins into his mouth, reaching down to press his hips harder into hers. She can only move one arm and it's killing her, especially when one of his hands is buried inside of her hair and the other is holding her hips in place. She squeezes his ass, knowing it will make him squeak (it always does, no matter how many times she does it). He gasps a little but doesn't make the expected noise and she frowns for a second before being distracted by the rocking of his hips.

His face buries in her neck, his breath making her neck wet. "God, Éponine."

She startles then. The movement makes her arm sting with pain, but the shock and humiliation pushes her through. She desperately tries to push him off of her, wide eyes watching the figure as it scrambles into a seated position, and only then does she see him clearly enough to recognise.

"Enjolras?" She whispers it in astonishment.

"Are- are you okay? Did I get your arm? I am so sorry."

She tries to whisper it, but even she can't control the way her voice changes. "I-I can't believe you would do that. With- Courf' is in the room- I thought it was him- I can't-", she cuts herself off.

She can see his mouth gape open as he shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I thought- I thought you knew."

She just shakes her head and lies back down, closing her eyes tightly just to signify the end of the conversation. A few minutes later, she hears him lay down. She can feel the warmth from him, but his body is just far away enough to not touch her.

* * *

><p>She is woken up by Courfeyrac the next morning with a kiss on the cheek and a rub on her right arm.<p>

"Some of us are going out."

She uses her right arm to push herself up. Looking around, she replies. "Who is going?"

"Marius, Joly, Jehan, Bossuet, and myself." She nods dejectedly. His voice turns quieter. "I wanted to stay, but everybody else flat out refused."

"Where are you going?"

He shrugs a little. "I have no idea. Jehan wants to try and find the people who shot you, he thinks they might be the ones who attacked us the other week. The ones with the others."

She nods. It had crossed her mind too.

She smiles and throws her arm around his shoulder, hugging him to the best of her ability. "Good luck. If _anything_ happens, come home."

He grins at her, kissing her quickly. "Don't worry, I wouldn't risk getting hurt. Who would look after you then?" He laughs.

She chuckles and watches him stand up. They all murmur to each other while she rubs her eyes and stretches her arm a little. They're all by the door when she turns to them again. Courfeyrac smiles at her and mouths 'I love you' at her. She reciprocates it and grins as the door closes, but when she hears it lock she feels guilt pour into her stomach.

Looking around the room, she sees Cosette staring at her. So is Bahorel when she looks at him, and she frowns when she sees Enjolras looking sheepish and sad in the corner of the room.

"What's wrong?"

Cosette shakes her head. "How did you think you could keep it a secret?"

Her heart drops in her chest. "What do you-what do you mean?"

Bahorel cuts over her last word. "You know, I practically saw it developing. I should have expected it, I just didn't think it would actually happen."

She looks desperately to Enjolras who just stares at the floor. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you seriously think nobody heard your little tryst last night?" Éponine had never heard Cosette sound so harsh.

Her heart drops. "I-I didn't-"

Enjolras' guilty voice chimes in. "I started it, Éponine thought it was Courfeyrac, nothing is going on between-"

"Oh, shut the _fuck_ up. We've all seen the looks you've been sending each other, last night wasn't the first time and we all know it." Bahorel's voice it booming and she prays that nobody is still stood outside the door listening in.

Cosette starts again. "You know that this will break up the group. This has the potential to shatter everything we've worked for."

Bahorel joins in. "I expected this from you, Enjolras, I mean, everyone has seen your love struck face every time you're even thinking of Ép. But, damn, Éponine, what about Courfeyrac?"

"I didn't mean for this to happen, okay?" She snaps then. "I know what has happened, and I fully understand that this will ruin our group forever. I really don't want that to happen, so can we please just forget about it? It was a stupid mistake, it won't happen again."

There's silence then, both Cosette and Bahorel turn to Enjolras. He swallows loudly, a pained look on his face. "She's right. It shouldn't have happened. But it did, and we can't change that."

Éponine nods. "How do we fix this?"

Cosette sighs. "You have to tell Courfeyrac."

"I can't." She shakes her head adamantly. "You know I can't. None of us can risk that."

Cosette nods. "Is there any chance that you're pregnant?"

Éponine startles. "No. Definitely not."

There's a collective sigh of relief from both Bahorel and Cosette. "Well, thank fuck for that. That would certainly make everything much more complicated." Cosette nods.

There's quiet for a while. Enjolras breaks it.

"It wasn't a mistake."

She sighs and rolls her head back. "For _fuck's_ sake, Enjolras."

"Well, it wasn't! I admit, last night, I did seize the opportunity a little unfairly. You weren't thinking straight and the lighting surely didn't help." He swallows. "But the time before that, you fully knew what you were doing."

"Yes, okay. That was intentional. But it was just a heat of the moment thing. I hadn't been wishing it would happen and planning it." She watches Enjolras. He looks to the floor. "Oh my god. You hadn't been waiting for it, had you?"

"Éponine, cut the crap. You knew it was going to happen eventually."

"Fuck you." She sneers at him.

Cosette jumps in. "No, for god's sake, please don't. That's what we're trying to avoid."

"Éponine, why do you think I've been proposing we go off alone and find supplies together? Why do you think I've been trying to sit down together and discuss plans with you since this entire thing started? I've been waiting for this to happen since before this whole epidemic began."

Her face goes red then. How is she supposed to respond to that? "Oh."

"'Oh'? That's all you have to say?"

Bahorel cuts in. "Enjolras, maybe you should just back off. Éponine has a boyfriend, you know how Courfeyrac would feel about this. Just forget about all of this, you know?"

Enjolras is stood up now. He stares blankly at Bahorel. "How the fuck is that going to work? I see Éponine every day. We're the leaders, I can't exactly stop talking to her, let alone stop _thinking_ about her."

Bahorel sighs, his voice raising. "I don't know, alright, man? We just have to sort out this thing before the others get back. We need to come up with a solution."

"We're the only ones who know, right?" Her voice sounds a lot more scared than it should.

"Jehan knows. That's why he suggested they all go out, so we could fix this shit today."

"Could you give Éponine and I some time alone, please?"

Cosette does a double take. "That is the worst possible thing to do right now."

Éponine backs up Enjolras. "No, actually I think it will help. If _we_ sort this out, there will be no more trouble at all."

Cosette looks like she understands, but it is obvious she wants to stay to watch what happens. "But where will we go?"

Enjolras shrugs. "Outside? Anywhere, just let us have some time in here. We just need to talk this out."

"Fine." Cosette and Bahorel stand up and leave the room, shutting the door fully on the way. They hear footsteps walking away and another door shut before Enjolras starts.

"I didn't mean to start loving you. It just happened and I didn't know how to resolve it." He sits down across from her and rests his arms on his knees. "You were with Courfeyrac so I couldn't really tell you straight away. I figured after a while you would just find out. I didn't exactly hide it."

"Please don't tell me the timeline of how everything happened. That won't help this situation at all."

"I need you to know, it's best-"

"But I don't want to know!" He pauses. She continues. "I... I'm going to tell Courfeyrac when he gets back. I'll tell him that I cheated on him. Then we can put all this behind us. I'll assure him that all these feelings, all this shit that has gone down between us, ended last night."

"But they haven't! If anything, they're stronger now. I can't just flip them on and off when I feel like it, they're not a fucking light switch." He stands up and starts pacing. "Do you not understand? I'm in love with you and I'm not going to be able to stop. Please don't try and force me. I know that I'm in the wrong here. I shouldn't love you, but I'm not ashamed of it."

She stands up and moves to him, her left arm aching. "But we should be ashamed of what we have done!"

"I get that. And I know I'm going to pay for that later when i get beat up by Courfeyrac. It's going to happen, I know it. I know that I'd do the same thing to the other guy if you cheated on me. We're going to pay for what we did, but that doesn't mean I don't believe in it anymore."

"The entire group is going to fall apart."

He puts his hand on her right shoulder then, staring her in the eyes. "You don't know that for sure. Yeah, it'll be tough for a while, but we're surviving an apocalypse here. We've gotta stick together and we all know that."

She nods and looks up to him through her eyelashes, scared of what could happen. "Do you think we'll get kicked out?"

"I wouldn't let them kick you out. It's not fair on you."

He kisses her cheek then. It's too scary and dangerous, so she pulls back with a wide eyed glare.

There's a knock on the door then, and Cosette and Bahorel barge through. "They're back, quick, act normal."

Sitting down at a wall, she waits for Courfeyrac to walk through the door. His usual cheery grin on his face that always makes her happy reappearing. She feels the opposite of happy when she does see it though, she just feels terrible. Horrible, knowing that she's going to wipe it off of his face with her unfaithfulness.

He comes over to her and smiles, kneeling down in front of her. "Hey, babe, how are you feeling?"

She panics and stands up quickly, not caring about the steering pain in her arm. "I need you outside, now."

He frowns a little, but follows her outside anyway. She shuts the door fully behind them, making sure it clicks before she starts talking.

She can still hear murmuring from inside the room, so, paranoid about anybody hearing, she grabs his hand and pulls him into the closet. It's cleared out, all of the supplies being taken by Joly, but it's still small.

"Éponine, you're scaring me, are you okay?" He holds her face gently. "Calm down, it's okay."

"No, it's not. You don't know-", he kisses her and shuts her up. Pulling back, he smiles at her.

"Go ahead, tell me what's wrong."

She freezes. How is she supposed to say it?

"Éponine?"

She shakes her head. She does what she knows works. She kisses him, both of her arms moving to the back of his neck to hold him there. He reciprocates it immediately, holding her body to his expertly.

She's pressed up against the tiny wall when he groans against her, rubbing his erection into her covered heat. They haven't been able to get any alone time in a very long time, and it's obvious at the rate Courfeyrac is moving.

His jeans are off and she desperately tries to wriggle hers off as he sucks at her neck, all the while squeezing her waist gently. She feels her jeans drop to the floor, kicking her feet until they're successfully on the other side of the closet.

He picks her up and presses her against the wall, his fingers skillfully pushing the material away from her opening. His fingers brush her clit and she gasps in pleasure, his grin clear in the faded light.

He presses her fingers into her, his thumb circling her clit all the while. She begins to jerk against him, and she groans into his ear slowly as he pulls down her panties all the way. Of course he wouldn't let her finish, he knows it annoys her and getting her frustrated is his favourite thing. His boxers are already on the floor when she looks down, and she actually squeaks when he pushes his hardness into her quickly. Groaning, he says her name louder than necessary.

With both their shirts off, they're just naked messes in the closet. Eponine really hopes nobody can hear them as Courfeyrac shouts her name against her collar bone, frantically pushing into her as his hands pull her hair. His fingers push against her clit when she feels him begin to pulsate inside her, aware of his hatred of finishing first. She feels her eyes close as pleasure engulfs her and can feel Courfeyrac stop moving and shudder for a while as her hands settle on his shoulders.

He sets her down once he knows they're both done. Pulling out of her, he hugs her against the wall, obviously trying to make the most of the moment.

"I cheated on you."

She feels Courfeyrac tense up. "What?" His voice is low and she suddenly gets scared. She has seen Courfeyrac completely angry before, and she had to leave the house because of how intimidated she was.

"I cheated on you."

He steps back. His hands are shaking and his mouth is open. "Who?" He breathes it out.

She can't seem to say it. He understands anyway. "No. No way. P- please tell me you're joking. Ép- are you fucking _kidding_ me?" He reaches down for his boxers, pulling them on quickly.

She follows suit and reaches her right arm down for her pants, she still has her bra on luckily. Pulling them up her legs she watches him pace around the tiny space. She crosses her arms across her chest, a terrified frown on her face.

"I'm gonna fucking kill that son of a bitch. Why would you do this to me, Éponine?" He's crying. He didn't cry the last time he was angry. Should she comfort him? "God, how did I not see it?" He punches the door and then slides down it, pushing his face into his hands. "Was I not enough?"

She assumes it's a genuine question, so she slides down the opposite wall and looks at him. "I love _you_, Courfeyrac. It just happened, I don't really know why."

He sniffs. "When?"

She gapes a little. "The first time was a couple of days ago-"

"The- the first time?!"

"It only happened two times, I swear!"

"So, a couple of days ago, and..."

"Last night."

He shakes his head. The light is dark but she can make out every detail of his face. "But- but last night I was with you constantly."

She stays silent.

His voice becomes louder. "When did you cheat on me last night?"

Her voice is a lot smaller than she intended it to be. "You were asleep." She hears him groan, but tries to reason with him. "I thought it was you, I couldn't see right."

"Did you-", he cuts himself off, shaking his head, more tears pouring from his eyes.

"What?"

"Did you fuck him?"

"No, we just-", she doesn't want to say it.

"Just what?" His words are becoming harsher as the conversation progresses and she wants it to be over already.

"We kissed."

"Is that all?"

"I sucked him off."

He stands up then, hurriedly getting dressed. She stands up as well. "Courfeyrac, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to go and have a talk with him."

She panics, quickly getting her jeans and pulling them on. "No, Courfeyrac, please don't."

"Why? Are you _protective_ over him?" He shakes his head. "My god, all the times he was scared for your safety, constantly asking me how you were, if you were feeling okay. I thought he was just being a good friend. Turns out, he just wanted to know if he was going to be getting any that night."

"What? Courfeyrac! Enjolras- Enjolras isn't like that."

He opens the door with a slam, just as she shrugs on her tshirt. "I thought so too."

He storms towards the room with heavy feet. Éponine moves after him hastily, scared of what could possibly happen next. She follows him into the room and shuts the door behind her. Everybody looks shocked, but she watches Courfeyrac as he advances on Enjolras who stands up with a raised chin.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, Enjolras?"

"Look, Courf', I know you're angry-"

He is cut off by a punch to the face. "I'm not fucking angry, I'm infuriated." Cosette screams and there is a shout from somewhere behind her. Enjolras sags against the wall, holding his chin carefully. She can't cry. She should be crying, but she's too scared for any other emotion.

Joly moves over to them. "Courfeyrac, calm down. Tell us what-"

He turns to them. "Did you all know? Were you all in on this secret too?"

Joly blinks. "What secret?"

"Enjolras and Éponine."

Joly turns to her, shocked.

"They've been fucking around behind my back without telling anyone."

Enjolras lifts a hand. "Just to be clear, we haven't been _fucking_-"

Courfeyrac turns and punches him again, hitting his eye this time. Tears start to pour from Courfeyrac's eyes again and Éponine wants to comfort him. He starts to mumble to himself. "I need to- I need to go for a walk. Yeah, I need to go and do some thinking."

She cuts in. "You can't go alone."

Bahorel stands up. "Would you like me to come with you?"

"No- no. I'd just- i want to be alone."

She walks up to him and looks him in the eyes. There are tears still pooling there and he seems heartbroken. "Please, Courf'. I just want you to be safe."

He nods. "Bahorel, will you come on a walk with me?"

He turns and walks out, not even waiting for Bahorel to follow him. The tall man closes the door fully on the way out, leaving them all in silence.

She sits down on the wall, suddenly feeling the urge to cry. She feels an arm wrap around her shoulder and she almost laughs when she looks around and sees that it's Enjolras. Nevertheless, she sits and cries into his shoulder and ends up falling asleep there, the comfort of his shoulder better than the coldness of the floor.


End file.
